Thursday, 1 August 2013

Fung Shui Conman Tony Chan Gets His Just Desserts

Nice hair Tony … er, Peter ...

Fung Shui "master" Tony Chan, who changed his English name to Peter Chan following his "enlightenment" with Jesus, was sentenced to twelve years on Independence Day (oh, what irony!) for forging the will of Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum, the late chairwoman of Chinachem and Asia's richest woman.

Take a look at the last line of the story (below), where journalist Patsy Moy's playful pun using "real heir" got left in. Sweet!

Has anyone ever noticed that dodgy hairdos appear to be a common theme amongst conmen …?

Speaking of which, take a look at this excellent music video along the same lines as evangelical con artists. It speaks volumes.

NINA WANG SAGAPeter Chan Chun-chuen, who used to go by Tony Chan, is a Hong
Kong-born businessman and former fung shui practitioner born in December
1959. In 2013, Chan went on trial accused of forging the will of Nina
Wang Kung Yu-sum, the late chairwoman of Chinachem and Asia's richest
woman. Chan denied the charges, but was found guilty in the Court of
First Instance on July 4, 2013.

Will forger who has just started 12-year stretch said to be 'joyful' in his lucky cell No 7 and is happy with what God has in store for himFriday, 19 July, 2013, 10:28am

Patsy Moy patsy.moy@scmp.com

Prophecies, mystical numbers and holy voices have left jailed feng shui conman Peter Chan Chun-chuen "joyful" after his first two weeks behind bars - and he has already started writing a book, according to one of his visitors.

Chan, who recently renounced geomancy for Christianity, was not desperate to get out; rather the man jailed for 12 years for forging the will of the late billionaire Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum believes his fate is in God's hands. But he has filed an appeal.Peter said he was completely satisfied with what God has arranged … and he has no immediate desire to leave Stanley

The friend who went to see him in Stanley Prison spoke to the South China Morning Post on condition of anonymity. "Peter said he was completely satisfied with what God has arranged … and he has no immediate desire to leave Stanley," his visitor said.

The friend described Chan, 53, as "joyful" after meeting many Christians in the prison who had prayed for him and comforted him, and he had not been ill-treated by other inmates. This is contrary to earlier reports that Chan was depressed and feared violence from other inmates.

According to the friend, Chan said he had been told in February by a prophet from India that God would prepare something "unusual" for him in July. Chan was sentenced to 12 years in jail on July 5 for forging a will he claimed was Wang's.

The friend described how the prophet was said to have stressed the importance of the number seven.

"Chan said that when he arrived at his cell, it was July 7 and 7pm. And the cell number? Seven.

"He told me that when he first stepped into the cell it was very dark and the light was not on. But inside it seemed very bright and a voice told him the No 7 cell would be his study to equip and prepare himself. "Peter told me he was very touched at that moment," the friend said.

Yesterday, the Correctional Services Department refused to disclose the number of Chan's cell, nor is it known on what day he was assigned to it.

Chan had another religious experience on his way to the prison, according to the friend.

"Peter recalled that when he was inside the prison van, the Holy Spirit had spoken to him to remind him to keep peace of mind," he said.

"The Holy Spirit told him that nothing was beyond his ability to shoulder and God had arranged a guiding angel to walk the path with him."

With leave to appeal yet to be granted, Chan told his friend he had started writing a book and planned to spend his time in prison studying theology, philosophy and English.

Chan, who picked up fung shui from a book, was once worth HK$2.7 billion after becoming Wang's fung shui guru and, the court heard, her lover.

Chan said Wang regularly gave him cash payments of between HK$300,000 and HK$1 million, boosted considerably by three mammoth payments of HK$688 million each.

Now he earns HK$70 a month gluing envelopes. His friend said he would get his first wage in the middle of next month and planned to spend the money on stamps so he could write to people, including his friends from the church.

The forged will made Chan - who was known as Tony before he became a Christian - sole beneficiary of Wang's HK$83 billion estate. But in a drawn-out legal case, Wang's Chinachem Charitable Foundation was ruled the real heir.

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Perhaps Thomas Jefferson said it best with: “Reason and free inquiry are the only effectual agents against error“. Much error exists in the world and this blog, from the perspective of one Hong Kong SAR resident, is a small attempt to minimize errors.
(this site was formerly HKSAR Blog)